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Mary Nern

• Graduate Assistant, Kent State of Well-being
• Health Education and Promotion

Mary Nern was a graduate student who earned a Master’s degree in Health Education and Promotion. She works in the Well Hub at and works with the Peer Educators and Megan Factor-Page, Assistant Director of the Kent State of Well-being. Mary said most of her roles centered around programing for the Well-Hub. “I do mostly planning for Wellness Wednesdays, coordinating us to make sure that they go well based on our objectives. And then just helping Megan Factor-Page  with developing our Peer Educators, running our weekly meetings, and staffing the Well Hub.”

Working in the Well-Hub was something that Mary said connected with her studies. She said that her work in SRWC kept her thinking about the same things she would be doing for a career. “My degree is about planning health, education, programming, and promoting healthy behavior. We do a lot with habits in this office, so we focus on helping people build skills to actually be able to choose healthy behavior so not “is this what I should be doing”, but “how can I be doing this.”

Mary said her roles in SRWC have given her the opportunity to practice what she is learning and be in the headspace of her degree in a professional setting. “I was here as a Peer Educator last year, which was a little different because I'm a little older, so it was a little different, but it was a nice foot in the door.” Mary said. “I do feel like this specific office has given me an opportunity to actually practice what I'm learning in my classes.”

Kent State was one of only two schools that Mary said had her program. She chose to work in SWRC because she said it was a unique position on campus that aligned with her studies. “I saw the Peer Educator position and thought it would be a good foot in the door.” Mary said. “I think there's a lot of opportunities here for students to gain a lot of professional skills.”

She said she thought there were some unique tasks that SRWC workers had to complete that were good for professional development. “I feel like having to do a presentation is something you actually have to do in the real world. I haven't had to yet, but I know professional staff have to. So I feel like it's a really good place for students to actually develop their skills.”